With approximately 230 aircraft and 35 million passengers set to fly with Ryanair to 21 European countries in 2006 it represents an opportunity for marketing to Europe's business commuters. The airline boosts a broad spectrum of passengers who range âfrom ABC right the way down,â according to Kiggins, although he admits that this is not the right medium for premium brands.

The entire fuselage can be branded apart from a small space on each engine which the International Air Transport Association has stipulated must identify the airline. The doors of the aircraft must also be clearly outlined. Otherwise, Kiggins states, it is a blank canvas.

The price for this space is £100,000 per year though the minimum contract term is two years. Production costs are extra and vary according to each company's livery.

Santina Doherty, head of advertising and ancillary revenue at Ryanair, comments, âIt's an innovative way of generating additional revenue to keep our fares the lowest in Europe.â

Kiggins will target 120 brands and has decided to keep all of the marketing face-to-face. It will include a presentation where the company will see a Photoshop mock-up of an aircraft in their company's colours. Branding opportunities inside the aircraft (ie. on headrests, overhead baggage compartments etc.) will also be discussed.

This is not the first time Ryanair has sold the faÃ§ades of its planes to advertisers. Ten years ago it entered into deals with Hertz, Kilkenny, Jaguar and Vodafone who branded the outside of four aircraft respectively however these planes are to be decommissioned in January 2006.

According to Kiggins, Ryanair is the first airline in the UK to offer this space to advertisers.